What Are Common Neurological Symptoms in Children?

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What Are Common Neurological Symptoms in Children?

When children do not meet speech/language, motor, or other developmental milestones,
doctors usually assume that the child has neurological symptoms. Speech and language
issues can be receptive, expressive, or both. Neurological symptoms include, but are
not limited to:

• Inability to roll over, crawl, walk, or stand

• Inability to imitate, focus, concentrate, or follow directions

• Low muscle tone (hypotonia)

• Seizures

• Obsessions

• Socialization impairment

• Mood changes

• Behavioral problems

• Non-compliance

• High anxiety

• Coping issues

• Metabolic abnormalities

• Strabismus and amblyopia

The word “neurological” refers to the nervous system, which is comprised of the brain,
the spinal cord and a massive circuitry of nerves. The brain, the most complex organ
in our body, is the center of the nervous system. Brain symptoms, such as difficulties
with word finding or other memory problems, are often the first sign of neurological issues.
Certain symptoms also fall under the category of neurological issues, such as:

• Tremors

• Numbness

• Tingling

• Poor reflex responses

• Tics

• Seizures

• Difficulties with speech/language

• Movement difficulties

The possible causes of neurological issues are many; they could be due to:

• Environmental causes

• Structural causes

• Biochemical causes

• Accident or injury to the brain

• Birth trauma

• Loss of oxygen at birth

• Genetic chromosomal disorder

• Combination of these triggers

Children who display the following symptoms should be evaluated for underlying
gut dysbiosis and immune dysregulation by an integrative pediatrician or holistic practitioner:

• Persistent toe walking (always walking on tip-toes)

• Delays in crawling, walking, talking

• Large motor delays–difficulties completing age-appropriate physical tasks

• Sideways glancing

• Sensory defensiveness or sensory-seeking behavior

• Pressure-seeking behavior

• Obsessive or compulsive type behaviors

• Persistent aggressive behavior

• Persistent non-compliant or oppositional behavior

• Tics (verbal or physical)

• Frequent temper tantrums (multiple times a day)

• Frequent crying, sadness, anger (multiple times a day)

What Your Doctor May Tell You About Your Child’s Neurological Symptoms

Your child’s doctor may suggest having your child seen by a specialist, such
as a neurologist, a psychiatrist, a speech pathologist, an ophthalmologist, an
audiologist, or a geneticist to obtain further information about what is going on
neurologically with your child. Your doctor may send you to a pediatric hospital
or neurological center.

Most physicians will be insistent that parents act quickly, as time is of the essence
when dealing with neurological issues.

Another Way to Think About Neurological Symptoms -
Medicine is beginning to understand that neurological issues may not begin in

the nervous system, but rather could be the result of broader imbalances in the
body that affect the brain. Eminent Harvard neurologist Martha Herbert PhD, MD,
questioned whether autism was “a brain disorder or a disorder that affects the brain.”

The Gut-Brain Axis -
Researchers today are revisiting what Chinese medicine discovered over 3,000
years ago: that the gut microbiome (housed in the body’s gastrointestinal tract)
is critical to overall health, and the gut, the immune system’s headquarters, is
tightly connected to the brain. Anything that impacts the gut and the immune system 
can also impact the brain. This is known as the gut-brain-immune axis.

When the microbiome is healthy, so is the nervous system; when it is not, a person
can have neurological, mood or behavioral symptoms–all things long thought to be
“all in the head.” The opposite is also true: neurons and neurotransmitters in the brain
can affect the microbiome.

Some researchers now realize that traditional psychiatric illnesses, or mental health
disorders, are all also related to the relationship between the gut, the immune system
and the brain.

When children do not reach their developmental milestones, or when they exhibit
‘brain-based’ or neurological symptoms, think first about what’s happening in the
gastrointestinal tract, which, in turn, affects the immune system and the brain.

Autism, ADD/ADHD and SPD Comorbidities - 
Knowledgeable practitioners have found that roughly 30-50% of children with autism, 
ADD/ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) also have PANS PANDAS. These
are newer diagnoses that your child’s pediatrician or psychiatrist may not be aware of.
They are disorders that are loosely defined as a sudden onset of acute anxiety and mood
variability accompanied by OCD (Obsessive  Compulsive Disorder) and/or tics.

PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with
Streptococcal Infections -
With PANDAS, the onset of symptoms is typically preceded by streptococcal -A infection
(“strep throat”). However, in some cases, children may not have presented with a full-blown,
acute strep throat infection. PANDAS is included in the larger umbrella of PANS, Pediatric
Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. PANS includes not only PANDAS, but also diagnoses
such as Lyme disease, OCD and ODD.

It is very common for younger siblings of children diagnosed with autism, ADD/ADHD or
Sensory Processing Disorder to be diagnosed themselves with PANS and PANDAS. If
this is the case, consider that your older child may have PANS PANDAS as well. In many
cases, these children have both a PANDAS diagnosis as well as that of Lyme disease.

Autoimmune Encephalitis - 
Another way to think of PANS PANDAS, as well as any neurodevelopmental disorder such
as autism, ADD/ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder and even learning disabilities, is that
these disorders may fall under the larger umbrella of autoimmune encephalitis (AE).